I've seen this movie when I was a kid and now 30 years later I was surprised to remember all of the tunes and many of the lyrics. They are quite catchy and some truly hilarious, attacking the Nazi occupation through patriotic defiance and laughter.
The movie is essentially told in flashbacks and relates the life of Warsaw residents during the World War II. The first half is composed of various amusing or poignant vignettes featuring a song. The second half is more of a traditional war movie, although the pace sometimes drops to a crawl, as though the film makers were trying to stretch it to 100 minutes.
The acting is very good and strongly reminds me of classic Polish pre-WWII comedies with character actors and fast dialogue. The movie is also interesting in that it is almost completely devoid of pro-Soviet propaganda, which would later dominate all Polish war movies.
The movie is essentially told in flashbacks and relates the life of Warsaw residents during the World War II. The first half is composed of various amusing or poignant vignettes featuring a song. The second half is more of a traditional war movie, although the pace sometimes drops to a crawl, as though the film makers were trying to stretch it to 100 minutes.
The acting is very good and strongly reminds me of classic Polish pre-WWII comedies with character actors and fast dialogue. The movie is also interesting in that it is almost completely devoid of pro-Soviet propaganda, which would later dominate all Polish war movies.